Teachers' Views of the Implementation of STEM Approach in Secondary Schools and The Effects on Students

Cevdet Tunc,Birsen Bagceci

doi:10.29333/pr/9295

Abstract

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) approach is considered important by many countries and projects carried out in order to integrate into their curriculum. The widespread use of STEM is only possible if teachers have positive thoughts, knowledge and experiences about it. In this study, it is aimed to answer these research questions: “What do teachers think about the gains their students will achieve if STEM activities are implemented to their students?” and “What do they think about the implementation of STEM approach in their schools?”. This study is a case study. Participants are twenty-three mathematics, science and information and communication technologies teachers (ICT). “Activities Evaluation Form” and “STEM Training In-School Implementation Evaluation Questionnaire” were used as data collection tools. As a result of research, although teachers have hesitations about implementing STEM activities in classrooms; they think that these implementations will make a significant contribution to students about the “skills” students will acquire, the dimension of knowledge they will gain about STEM activities, and the acquisitions of students regarding the learning process.

Highlights

In today’s world, there is a need for individuals with 21st-century skills such as critical thinking, entrepreneurship, communication, collaboration, decision-making, leadership, problem-solving, responsibility, and creativity
STEM approach basically consists of the four main components mentioned above, the Art component has been added to these disciplines in recent literature studies, and it has been added to the literature as a new approach with the abbreviation STEAM or STEM + A
According to Land (2013), while the focus of the traditional STEM approach is the development of analytical thinking skills, both analytical and creative thinking skills come to the fore in STEM + A education approach

Summary

Introduction

In today’s world, there is a need for individuals with 21st-century skills such as critical thinking, entrepreneurship, communication, collaboration, decision-making, leadership, problem-solving, responsibility, and creativity. STEM approach basically consists of the four main components mentioned above, the Art component has been added to these disciplines in recent literature studies, and it has been added to the literature as a new approach with the abbreviation STEAM or STEM + A. According to Land (2013), while the focus of the traditional STEM approach is the development of analytical thinking skills, both analytical and creative thinking skills come to the fore in STEM + A education approach. Another STEM approach is the one that has taken place in the literature with the abbreviation CT-STEM. Entrepreneurship in STEM approach has become one of the fields that are integrated with STEM approach as a separate component and it has been included in the literature with the abbreviation STEM + E

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion